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Londolozi Live

Membership overview

We invite you to sign up for a Londolozi Live account and join our growing digital family united by our respect for nature and love of the wild. Membership is free and grants access to the Londolozi community, numerous innovative services and benefits across our digital ecosystem:

Quick sign in/sign up

Tired of new passwords? Link your social media account of choice for instant, secure access to Londolozi Live.

Who are you?

Tell the community something about yourself and tweak your Londolozi profile. More of a secretive animal? Keep your profile private.

Track your activity

Earn badges for your profile as you interact with Londolozi and the community as you comment, share and explore our online ecosystem. All your activity with Londolozi is now connected.

Increase your ranking

Earn prowess and rank up as you interact with Londolozi Live and earn a spot on the monthly points leaderboard.

Discuss stories

Chat with other Londolozi Live Explorers and with your favourite Contributors from the Londolozi team about their photos and stories from the wild.

Curate your own galleryNEW

Add your favorite photographs from around Londolozi Live to your very own Favorites gallery, using the ♡ button, for others to enjoy.

Purchase full res photosNEW

Buy your favorite photos in full resolution, easily and securely, for download at any time from your Profile Page.

Home of leopards

Tell us which of the Leopards of Londolozi you've encountered during your visit! Their cards will move to your profile page collection.

Rent gear

Need a camera for your stay? Book it online and hassle free. Travel to Londolozi light and easy.

Londolozi Live q

How Patience Leads You To Four Leopards

“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.”

Patience certainly paid off for us on this particular morning. Let us tell you how it all played out…

It all started when we hastily left the camp. Somebody had reported a leopard calling somewhere close by. Clearly a leopard was up and about and there was a good chance of finding it. The radio call came through later than expected – “we have located a male leopard”. We rushed at the opportunity. Even though we had not found the leopard ourselves, we had been following his tracks and so the excitement had been building.

The Inyathini male walks between us and another Londolozi vehicle between bouts of territorial roars.

Inyathini 3:3 Male

It was the Inyathini male. He was quite far out of his normal range – a consequence of the vacant territory left by the deceased Piva male. As the Inyathini male walked he would periodically stop to sniff for signs of other leopards before letting out a series of deep, rasping calls that advertised his stake of the area. Being in the presence of a large, wild leopard letting out a territorial call is indescribable.

The Inyathini male looks back over his shoulder. This area was previously occupied and defended by the Piva male. The Inyathini male moved cautiously through this region, presumably with the knowledge that he was out of his normal territory.

The Inyathini male crossed over the boundary of Londolozi, continuously calling as he entered a neighboring reserve. It was not over yet though… We could hear the calls of a female leopard responding. Next came a cacophony of growls. Our expectation was that they would mate. How wrong we were!

Part of the joy of a safari is the anticipation of what might come…

Suddenly, in the distance, we saw a leopard leap into the top of a tree.

A long distance view of the leopard that was chased up a tree by the Inyathini male

We waited patiently for the leopard to come down as we pondered why she wouldn’t mate with the male.

For at least twenty minutes we could not see anything. The alarm calls of birds and squirrels became closer and closer though, so we knew the leopard was coming our way. Eventually, we got sight of the leopard again. The universe seemed to be in our favour as the leopard came right towards us and crossed the road back into Londolozi. We were ecstatic. Our perseverance had paid off. Little did we know, our morning was just beginning…

The Tamboti female crossing the road towards us, into Londolozi. This is the same leopard that was pictured in the tree in the previous image

The leopard turned out to be the Tamboti female. The reason she wouldn’t mate became clear. She had cubs already. We were sure she would lead us to the cubs and our excitement mounted! There is nothing quite as amazing as viewing leopard cubs!

Tamboti 4:3 Female

We followed her literally for hours. She would walk slowly, sniff the air, and then rest. We hypothesized that she was making sure it was safe to go to where the cubs were stashed. She avoided being detected at all costs.

The leopard sneaks up onto a termite mound to gain a vantage point over the landscape without being seen.

She would stop to sleep periodically, even sleeping for an hour at a time. We wondered if we were on a fool’s errand as we waited, not so patiently at times, for her to awake. Our emotions went from high as we followed to low as she slept. Not even a squirrel continuously calling an alarm from a nearby tree seemed to wake her. Would we ever even get to see the cubs?

A tree squirrel looks down on where the leopard was sleeping. It alarmed loudly at the leopard for over half an hour. Image by guest, Judy Boch

Once again however, our patience paid off. The leopard switched from being fast asleep to on-the-move within a matter of a few minutes.

She kept using fallen over trees and termite mounds as vantage points to see if the coast was her for clear to continue walking towards where she had left her cubs. Image by Guest, Judy Boch

Our emotions were spinning out of control as we realized where she was leading us – straight to the cubs!

One of the cubs gazes up towards us inquisitively. Image by Londolozi tracker, Bennet Mathonsi

There they were! One was up in the tree playing with the other sibling watching when their mother arrived. They were ecstatic to see her. So much so that the cub in the tree came tumbling down to greet her.

One of the cubs scrambles down from the top of a tree while staring towards its mother, who had just returned to them. Image by Londolozi tracker, Bennet Mathonsi

It is almost impossible to describe our feelings as we observed the mother and cubs interacting with one another. We literally got goosebumps as we watched the leopards reunite and raw joy bubbled up inside us. We had waited patiently throughout the whole morning, with the hopes of getting even just a glimpse of the cubs, knowing all too well that it may not even happen.

When it all came together, there was nowhere else in the world we’d rather be…

Wow ! how amazing! An incredible and exciting experience and great photos! This is one of the things that makes Londolozi so special – to be able to watch and track animals and stay with them rather than being on a fixed time schedule. And to do it in the company of rangers and trackers who are prepared to go the extra mile (literally) to give guests an experience that will touch the soul and that they will never, ever forget.

Associates & Awards

One moment...

Purchase a photograph

Our best photographs are available for purchase in digital format from the Londolozi Live Fine Art Store, via credit card. Purchasable photos are tagged with the Fine Art Store icon:

Once purchased, you will be able to download the full resolution, unwatermarked image (around 10Mb) from your profile page at any time. There are also different license options which you can choose from when adding the image to your cart.

To add any purchasable image to your cart, press the Purchase/Add to cart buttons next to an image, from anywhere across Londolozi Live:

Badges

Badges are awarded for achieving various things and come with a bunch of points in tow. Here's an example badge:

We've had the pleasure of hosting you here at Londolozi and together we've experienced the magic of the wild and now you're part of the family. You've let us know about your past visits while editing your Profile.

Londolozi Guest

Awarded for visiting Londolozi.

1000

prowess earned

for earning the Londolozi Guest badge

Each badge has a basic version, such as the Londolozi Guest badge above, and then a specialist version:

Londolozi Lifer

Awarded for visiting Londolozi three times.

2000

prowess earned

for earning the Londolozi Lifer badge

To see all the badges on offer and find out how to grab them, visit the Badge Showcase or click on any badge you happen to find out there in the wild.

Senior Digital Ranger

Digital Tracker

Master Tracker

Guest

We've had the pleasure of hosting you here at Londolozi and together we've experienced the magic of the wild and now you're part of the family. You've let us know about your past visits while editing your Profile.

You've earned the badge:

Londolozi Guest

Awarded for visiting Londolozi.

1000

prowess earned

for earning the Londolozi Guest badge

You're a specialist in this field and have earned the badge:

Londolozi Lifer

Leopard

On a trip to Londolozi you've been lucky enough to spot a leopard of Londolozi. You've encountered the leopard's profile card on the Blog and pressed the 'Spotted this Leopard?' button to record your sighting.

Lion Fanatic

Photographer

You've got an eye for the wilderness and have had your photographic journal from your time at Londolozi published on the Blog for others to enjoy. You found out how to submit your story by emailing us.

You've earned the badge:

Photographer

Awarded for submitting a photo story.

700

prowess earned

for earning the Photographer badge

You're a specialist in this field and have earned the badge:

Master Photographer

Storyteller

You've got the gift of the storyteller and have had a tale of your time at Londolozi published on the Blog for others to marvel at around the camp fire. You found out how to submit your story by emailing us.

Art Specialist

Good Work Foundation

You recongise the rare privilege it is to be able to experience the untamed beauty of the natural world, and have found an opportunity to give back through The Good Work Foundation, for the sake of others, your children and the wild. You've let us know about your donations while editing your Profile.

You've earned the badge:

GWF Patron

Awarded for donating to The Good Work Foundation.

500

prowess earned

for earning the GWF Patron badge

You're a specialist in this field and have earned the badge:

GWF Protector

Curator

You've curated your own Favorites gallery by ♡ing at least 15 photographs which you absolutely love from around Londolozi Live. If your Favorites gallery has caught the eye of the Fine Art site Editor and is featured, you've also earned the esteemed Featured Curator badge.

Londolozi Live

Membership Overview

Londolozi Live

Membership overview

We invite you to sign up for a Londolozi Live account and join our growing digital family united by our respect for nature and love of the wild. Membership is free and grants access to the Londolozi community, numerous innovative services and benefits across our digital ecosystem:

Quick sign in/sign up

Tired of new passwords? Link your social media account of choice for instant, secure access to Londolozi Live.

Who are you?

Tell the community something about yourself and tweak your Londolozi profile. More of a secretive animal? Keep your profile private.

Track your activity

Earn badges for your profile as you interact with Londolozi and the community as you comment, share and explore our online ecosystem. All your activity with Londolozi is now connected.

Increase your ranking

Earn prowess and rank up as you interact with Londolozi Live and earn a spot on the monthly points leaderboard.

Discuss stories

Chat with other Londolozi Live Explorers and with your favourite Contributors from the Londolozi team about their photos and stories from the wild.

Curate your own galleryNEW

Add your favorite photographs from around Londolozi Live to your very own Favorites gallery, using the ♡ button, for others to enjoy.

Purchase full res photosNEW

Buy your favorite photos in full resolution, easily and securely, for download at any time from your Profile Page.

Home of leopards

Tell us which of the Leopards of Londolozi you've encountered during your visit! Their cards will move to your profile page collection.

Rent gear

Need a camera for your stay? Book it online and hassle free. Travel to Londolozi light and easy.

sightings by Members

The Leopards of Londolozi

Since 1979 Londolozi has had a love affair with leopards. Over the last four decades, this dynasty has been chronicled by the many guides and trackers, past and present, who have worked at Londolozi.

You can visit the Mashaba 4:3 Female's dedicated profile page to access a rich trove of information about this leopard, including family tree, unique markings, territory maps, timelines and a host of stunning images and videos.